posted 08-03-2018 11:57 PM               

Does anyone know the details of the lemon story such as what part of the spacecraft he placed or attached the lemon to? Also it has been said that the lemon came from his backyard. I wonder if that is true.

posted 08-04-2018 12:37 AM               

It is reported that Gus hung the lemon on the command module simulator using a wire coat hanger. This photo is purported to be of the said lemon. The incident has been reported as having occurred following a water tank reduced gravity simulation, so this may hint towards which simulator was involved.

Wikipedia details Betty Grissom stating that Gus took a lemon from the tree at home with the intent of hanging it on the spacecraft.

posted 08-04-2018 01:39 AM               

On January 22, 1967, Grissom made a brief stop at home before returning to the Cape. A citrus tree grew in their backyard with lemons on it as big as grapefruits. Gus yanked the largest lemon he could find off of the tree. Betty had no idea what he was up to and asked what he planned to do with the lemon. "I'm going to hang it on that spacecraft," Gus said grimly and kissed her goodbye. Betty knew that Gus would be unable to return home before the crew conducted the plugs out test on January 27, 1967. What she did not know was that January 22 would be "the last time he was here at the house."

While flight-preparation crews were having problems, Grissom, White, and Chaffee were finding bottlenecks in training activities. The chief problem was keeping the Apollo mission simulator current with changes being made in spacecraft 012. At the Cape, Riley D. McCafferty said, there were more than 100 modifications outstanding at one time. Grissom, McCafferty later recalled, would "tear my heart out" because the simulator was not keeping up with the spacecraft. Eventually, the first Apollo commander hung a lemon on the trainer.

Near sunset, early on this winter evening, communications problems again caused a delay, this time for ten minutes, before the plugs could be pulled. Thus, the test that should have been finished had not really started, and an emergency egress practice was still to come. The crew was accustomed to waiting, however, having spent similar long hours in trouble-plagued training simulators. About 6:30, Grissom may have been thinking about the jest he had played on Riley McCafferty by hanging a lemon on the trainer.

posted 08-04-2018 03:22 AM               

A better context is needed of what the thought process was behind such a move. It may just have been an inside joke that has been blown out or it may have been something more serious.

posted 08-04-2018 06:12 AM               

The notebook is a highly detailed chronology of Grissom's activities and meetings associated with the Apollo 1 spacecraft (S/C 012). Many of the pages were written while inside Apollo 1, listing results and comments made during tests. The first entry is dated 11 June 66 and the last was on 19 September [1966].

Numerous problems are listed with the first manned Apollo spacecraft as noted by Grissom, which includes, "...temp came on with the Master c/w [caution and warning] and I could hear the gyros run down" from page 1. on page 13, "...cable was damaged and appears to be external only. Must be examined, reviewed," and page 17 states under the COMM[unications] heading, "VOX [voice activated circuit] not satisfactory. Meeting in HOU[ston] Fri to resolve problem."

...Wally Schirra was given this notebook by NASA to assist his training for the first manned Apollo flight.

posted 08-04-2018 07:24 AM               

Frank Borman stated in an interview "I think everybody thought, 'Well, it's a first time. It's a very complicated vehicle. These are things that will work out.' I'm sure that's the way the crew felt, you know; that they were disgusted, they were trying to make it happen. But I'm sure they felt it would get fixed."